August 15, 2006

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Off to One First Street They Go

If you're reading this blog, congratulations. Give yourself a big pat on the back. Odds are that you are much smarter and more well-informed than the average American. Consider the results of a recent poll:

Sleepy, Grumpy, Larry, Moe, Krypton -- that's what seems to stick in the national mind-set these days. Americans are more familiar with the Seven Dwarfs, the Three Stooges and Superman than with current events and world leaders, according to yet another poll that reveals our trite side.

In a survey released yesterday, veteran political pollster John Zogby determined that although 77 percent of us can identify two of the Seven Dwarfs, only 24 percent could name two Supreme Court justices.

God save the Republic...

Okay, let's say you're a justice on the Supreme Court, and you want to increase your name recognition. What should you do?

We recommend public discussion of the oeuvre of Long Dong Silver:

"Not surprisingly, Clarence Thomas, whose nomination was marked by controversy, was the most recognized justice -- identified twice as often as his next best-known peer on the Supreme Court -- Antonin Scalia," the survey stated.

Justice Thomas was cited by almost 20 percent of the respondents and Justice Scalia by a little less than 11 percent. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg were tied at 9 percent. Sixty-three percent were unsure just who was on the Supreme Court. Only 11 percent knew that Samuel A. Alito Jr. was confirmed as the 110th Supreme Court justice in January.

You can be a brilliant law professor and former D.C. Circuit judge, like Justices Scalia and Ginsburg; a top Supreme Court litigator, like Chief Justice Roberts; or a former U.S. Attorney and one of the nation's best appellate judges, like Justice Alito. But the American people still won't have a clue about who you are, even after you're appointed to the Supreme Court.

We live in a great nation. Nothing captures the public imagination like pubic hair in carbonated beverages...

(For more on the Supreme Court and the Seven Dwarfs, check out this post at Southern Appeal. Genius.)